Apparatus for loading and unloading poles and the like to and from trucks



Feb. 13, 1962 E. s. WARREN 3,021,021

APPARATUS FOR LOADING AND UNLOADING POLES AND THE LIKE TO AND FROM TRUCKS Filed Sept. 11, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. ED WIN GUY WARREN A T TOR/V5 Y5 Feb. 13, 1962 E. G. WARREN 3,021,021

APPARATUS FOR LOADING AND UNLOADING POLES AND THE LIKE TO AND FROM TRUCKS Filed Sept. 11, 1959 2 Shets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR. l/gz/ EDWIN GUY WARREN T a- BLMWW 147' TOR/VEYJ' United States Patent Ofilice 3E2 l ,921 Patented Feb. 13, 1962 3,021,021 APPARATUS FOR LOADING AND UNLOADING POLES AND THE LIKE TO AND FROM TRUCKS Edwin G. Warren, 17031 Cull Canyon, Hayward, Calif. Filed Sept. 11, 1959, Ser. No. 839,458 4 Claims. (Cl. 21477) This invention generally relates to apparatus for handling heavy elongated objects such as pipe, telephone poles and the like, and is more particularly directed towards such apparatus which may be operatively installed on a semi-trailer or similar truck construction whereby such objects may be more conveniently loaded onto and removed from the truck.

In accordance with conventional practice, the transporting of long poles or pipes presents considerable problems. Since such objects are far too heavy to permit manual handling, it has been heretofore necessary to provide a crane or like machine at each loading or unloading site to effect moving such objects from or to the truck or semi-trailer.

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide power actuated apparatus which maybe readily installed on a transport vehicle, which is thus available for use at all times for loading and unloading operations, and which is capable of engaging the objects at selected elevations relative to the bed or supporting surface of the vehicle.

Another object of the invention is to provide apparatus of the character described which is capable of moving an elongated object about an axis of rotation parallel to the length of the object between a ground engagingposition spaced from the vehicle to a position overlying the bed of the vehicle.

A further object of this invention is to provide apparatus of the above type in which a boom or arm is pivoted to a vehicle body, with the boom having a longitudinally adjustable material engaging and supporting element thereon, the pivotalconnection between the boom and body moving downwardly upon pivoting of the boom to minimize the danger of the object accidentally sliding off from the boom and element.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide apparatus as above described which is simple in construction and operation and which may be hydraulically operated by remote control so as to minimizepersonal hazards attendant normal unloading or loading operations.

This invention possesses other objects and features of advantage, some of which, with the foregoing, will be set forth in the following description of the preferred form of the invention which is illustrated in the drawings accompanying and forming part of the specification. It is to be understood, however, that variations in the showing made by the said drawings and description may be adopted within the scope of the invention as set forth in the claims.

Referring to said drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of a portion of a vehicle'provided with the apparatus of the present invention.

"FIGURE 2 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially in the plane indicated byline 2-2 of FIGURE 1. FIGURE 3 is a transverse cross-sectional view taken 2 substantially in the plane indicated by line 33 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 4 is a transverse cross-sectional view of a portion of the apparatus, and on an enlarged scale, the general plane of the view being indicated by line 4-4 of FIGURE 1.

As hereinabove explained, the apparatus of the instant invention is adapted to be permanently mounted on the body of a truck, preferably to the bed of a semi trailer, and thus be ready for use at any time. More specifically, a pair of booms or arms are mounted in spaced relationship on a side portion of such semi-trailer so that object engaging elements carried on each arm may engage the pole or pipe at longitudinally spaced portions thereof to eliminate the need for engaging the object at its center of gravity in moving the same from the truck bed to the ground or from the ground to the vehicle bed.

Referring now to the drawing, the vehicle body is generally designated by the numeral 12 and includes a horizontally disposed flat bed 13 on which objects may be transported, and suitable reinforcing members 14 disposed subjacent the bed for lending structural rigidity thereto and adapted for operative attachment to the wheels of the vehicle (not shown). The objects to be moved by the apparatus of the instant invention are here shown in the form of longitudinally extending cylindrical elements 16, such as telephone poles, pipes, or the like, and are stacked on the body in any suitable manner. Usually, a plurality of stakes are carried by the body adjacent the longitudinally extending side edges thereof to prevent accidental lateral movement of such pipes 16 and restrain the same against accidental dislodgement. Such stakes may be likewise employed in the present arrangement, but as will be presently explained, the booms or arms which comprise a portion of the instant invention also serve as stakes or object retaining elements when in their upright inoperative position. However, for reasons of safety, it is desirable to provide additional conventional stakes so that when the booms are rotated from their normal vertical position as shown in solid lines in FIGURE 3 to the posi tion represented by the dotted or dot-dash lines, there still will be no danger of the elements 16 falling from the vehicle bed.

The arms or booms, generally indicated at 18, in their normal position are disposed substantially immediately adjacent one side of the bed 13 and preferably con.- tained within the lateral extent thereof such as by notching the body to permit the arm in its vertical position to be completely contained within the body. The lower end of each arm is disposed below the surface of the bed 13 and is pivotally connected to a piston rod 19 of a pneumatic or hydraulic cylinder 21 which is carried by the truck body subjacent the bed 13 by a pivotal connection 22 adjacent the side of the body opposite to that on which the arms are carried. Cylinder 21 and its piston rod 19 extend transversely of the body and the piston rod 19 is operatively attached to the lower end of the arm 18 such as by pivot means 23, presently to be described. In order to provide for proper controlled rocking or movement of the arm upon piston actuation, a link 26 is provided, such link being pivotally attached at pin 27 to a stationary portion of the frame of the vehicle and pivoted at 28 to the arm above the pivotal connection 23 thereof. The pivot connection means 23 includes a member in the form of a bell crank 29 having a short arm thereof pivotally secured to the piston rod 19 through a pin 30, a second pivot pin 32 being engaged with the arm 13 and a medial portion of the bell crank, and the distal end of the bell crank being pivotally secured to the pivot pin 27. In this manner, and as will be best illustrated in solid lines in FIGURE 3 of the drawings, when the piston rod 19 is in its extended position, the arm 18 will be disposed in a vertical position immediately adjacent the side of the vehicle. However, as the piston rod is retracted to the dotted line position, such movement will swing the bell crank in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in the drawing and the cylinder 21 and its attached piston rod will likewise swing downwardly about its pivot 22. This action will result in a counterclockwise movement of the link 26 and the arm 18 will commence swinging downwardly as illustrated. Continued retraction of piston rod 19 will result in further counterclockwise movement of the bell crank 29 and the links 26 until the arm has passed a horizontal position and is in a downwardly inclined position illustrated in dot-dash lines wherein the distal ends of the arm is substantially in ground-engaging relation so as to permit the removal of an object carried on such arm as when the truck is being unloaded, or conversely permit the placing of a new pole or object onto the arm from the ground so that the same can be loaded on to the bed 13.

As illustrated, the arm 18 is in the form of oppositely directed channel members 36 having their backs in spaced relation and their flanges extending forwardly and rearwardly respectively of the vehicle. The channels are secured together by straps 38 or the like positioned at spaced intervals along the length of the channels to provide for a substantially unitary construction. With the arms 18 being capable of pivotal movement as hereinabove explained, it is of course necessary that means he provided on the arms to permit engagement thereof with the objects to be loaded or unloaded. Preferably, such object engaging elements consist of one or more forks 41 extending outwardly from opposite sides of each of the channels 36 and as will be presently explained, the forks of each of the arms are capable of longitudinal movement along the length of the arm. The forks 41 are here shown as carried on opposite sides of a carriage 43 having a front wall 44 and side walls 46, such housing being movable along the arms by mechanism presently to be described. Positioned between the channel members 36 is a cylinder 46 including a piston rod 47. The upper end of the rod 47 is provided with a yoke 48 to which is journalled on a transverse shaft 49 a pinion gear 51. This gear is in engagement with a chain 52 having one end secured to the arm substantially medially of the length of the latter, as shown at 53, with the other end of the chain after passing over the pinion being secured to a lug 54 mounted on the carriage 43. In this manner, as will be understood, when the piston rod is retracted, causing the pinion to descend along the length of the arm 18, the carriage 43 and the forks 41 carried thereby will likewise be caused to descend, whereas upon extension of the rod 47, the forks 41, and any load thereon, will be caused to rise. Preferably the carriage is provided with rollers 55 engageable in the channels 36 for guiding the carriage during movement thereof.

From the foregoing description, the operation of the apparatus should be understood. Assuming for the .moment that the vehicle is loaded with pipe elements 16, each of the arms would normally be in the position illustrated in solid lines in the drawings with the forks 41 overlying the top pipes in the stack. Then, assuming pipe 16a was to .be removed, the operator would first effect a slight raising of carriage 43 and forks 41 by extending the rod 47. No controls or valves are shown for the cylinders 46 or 21 since such controls and valve systems to effect extension or retraction of a piston rod are well known in the art and no detailed explanation or description is deemed necessary. Once the forks 41 clear the upper surface of pipe 16a, the operator may effect a partial retraction of piston rod 19 causing the unloaded arm to swing outwardly to clear the stack of elements. The fork 41 is then lowered to be in a position to engage the interstice between pipe 16a and the subjacent pipe, and the piston rod extended to bring the arm back into vertical position but with the fork 41 engaging under element 16a. When this has occurred, a hook 56 pivoted to the carriage at 57 may be swung downwardly over the pipe and the piston rod 19 again retracted. This time, however, the rod 19 will be fully retracted until the arm 18 reaches its lowermost position of travel wherein the article 16a will be positioned substantially immediately adjacent the ground. It is significant to note that in moving the arm from its vertical position adjacent the truck body to its ground engaging position, the pivotal connection 32 thereof swings downwardly so that the actual angular inclination of the arm is held at a minimum, thereby reducing the danger of causing a cylindrical object to be supported on a sharply inclined downwardly sloping surface. When the arm is in the position illustrated in dot-dash lines in FIGURE 3, the pipe may be readily removed therefrom by personnel provided with crowbars or the like, and by the same token an article could be likewise rolled on to the arms by such personnel. In order to load objects onto the bed 13 the reverse procedure is utilized.

From the foregoing description it is believed clear that the apparatus of the instant invention is extremely simple in construction and operation yet will perform the requisite loading and unloading functions with a minimum of difficulty or operational problems.

What is claimed is:

1. In a vehicle having a relatively fiat horizontal bed on which cylindrical objects may be transported, a longitudinally extending boom normally vertically disposed adjacent one edge of said bed with the lower end of the boom extending below said bed, a load engaging element carried by said boom, means for moving said element longitudinally of said boom for selectively raising and lowering a load when said boom is in a generally vertical position, a cylinder pivotally carried by said vehicle subjacent said bed and having an extensible piston rod extending towards said one edge of the bed, means supporting said boom subjacent said bed for movement from said vertical position to a downwardly inclined position, said means including a link having one end thereof pivotally connected to a medial portion of said boom subjacent said bed and the other end thereof pivotally connected to a fixed portion of said vehicie inwardly of said edge and subjacent said bed, a bell crank having one end pivotally connected to said fixed pivotal connection and the other end pivoatlly connected to the distal end of said piston rod, and means pivotally connecting the medial portion of said bell crank to the lower end of said boom whereby upon retraction of said piston rod said lower end of the boom will follow an arcuate downward and inward path relative to said bed edge and to said fixed pivotal connection as the boom is lowered from its vertical position to its downwardly inclined position.

2. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 in which said load engaging element is mounted on a carriage, means slidably supporting said carriage for movement along said boom, and hook means carried by said carriage and overlying said load engaging element.

3. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 including a carriage mounted for rolling movement along said boom, said load engaging element including a fork extending References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Webster Mar. Arvidsson Mar. Johnson Nov Rockwell Apr.

FOREIGN PATENTS Sweden Mar. 

